Friday, 29 July 2011

Thermal Auricular Therapy

Thermal Auricular Therapy is the technical term used for Hopi ear candle treatment.

What is Thermal Auricular Therapy?
Thermal auricular therapy uses ear candles to correct pressure, remove excess moisture and excess wax from the ears to leave you feeling cleansed and hearing clearer.
The 'candles' are in fact rolled tubes of linen that have been soaked in beeswax, honey and essential oils and are inserted just inside the outer ear and lit. They have a filter near the end to stop any wax and powder from falling back into the ear.

BioSun Hopi ear candle pair.

I personally use BioSun Hopi ear candles because they burn cleaner and are a trusted brand, but other brands are available.

History
Ear candles were traditionally used by the Hopi Indian tribe of North America to cleanse and balance the mind and spirit.

Conditions That May Benefit
Tinnitus, glue ear (excess wax), swimmer's ear (excess moisture), sinusitis. Ear candles are also good for balancing the pressure inside the ear after a long flight.

Does it really work?
Most people are skeptical about thermal auricular therapy but that is mostly because they don't understand how it works or don't know anyone who has had it done.
I had to use them myself recently so I decided to document my findings and the outcome to spread awareness of this truely relaxing and enjoyable holistic therapy.

I woke up Tuesday morning with my left ear feeling very muffled and hearing out of it was quite difficult. I decided to go to the Doctor's to get it looked at as I didn't have a cold and hadn't got any water in it recently. I was told I had 'a substantial amount of wax' in my ears and that was causing the blockage. Not a nice thing to hear but gave me the perfect opportunity to use some ear candles.
The treatment was very relaxing and there was no pain or discomfort. After the treatment my ears felt a little better but still a bit muffled so I'll wait a week then do another course if they haven't cleared by then.
I took a picture of the candle from my left ear (if you are grossed out about ear wax then skip the pic)

Unrolled ear candle.

You can see the filter (orange thing) that stops the debre from falling back into the ear. The brown stuff is ear wax and the powder is what is fromed when moisture is drawn out of the ear. I have to be honest and say that that's the most amount of wax I've ever seen from a Hopi treatment. Considering the amount of wax that was drawn out I never felt a thing and it didn't hurt.

Safety
I always recommend you go to a trained professional to have this done and avoid doing a home treatment as most packs of candles do not come with clear instructions and you always should take care with naked flames.

For more information on thermal auricular therapy please see my website.